DON"T let this happen to your family!!

[TitanBrett]

who has alligators just out chillin and walking around? That is just scary!!! We definitely will be steering clear of the water and no more riding the boat to GF from the MK with our little ones

who? florida, thats who There are alligators in basically every freshwater pond, lake, and river in the state. I suspect in a body of water the size of the 7 seas lagoon there are probably a few hundred. A small retention pond will usually be home to 2 females or 1 male. Though it sounds strange, they are not aggressive and rarely bother anybody. The state averages 1 death per year from an alligator which is outrageously low.

 

[kupperman]

OMG! That is so scary! Glad your son is ok. We're staying at CBR this fall, I will be sure not to stray from the paths and keep an eye on the kids. My MIL and husband are terrified of snakes, not sure I will be sharing this story with them but I will keep a watchful eye out. Thanks for sharing your story.

 

[Feralpeg]

To keep it in perspective, I go to the parks on a regular basis. I've only seen snakes a couple of times and they were black racers. Black racers are not venomous. I have one that lives in my front bushes.

Your chances of seeing a snake at WDW at low. Most guests never see one. Those that do, most likely, see black racers. They are the most prevalent snake here. The chances of being bitten are very low. Again, just stay out of the bushes and long grass and you won't have a problem.

 

[jakesmom_01]

THank you for your story and I am so glad your son is OK. we will DEF be a little more cautious when we go at the end of the month. I know I haven't always thought about this when we are there even though the threat is there because it is a swamp area.

THanks again and I'm glad for your family was able to enjoy the remainder of your stay. Minus the hospital.

 

[Moomduck1]

OP - very glad to hear that your son is ok!!

And thanks to the FL posters who are reminding us that while Disney may be a "magical" place, it is also a "real" place with insects, etc that we have to remember to watch out for. I tend to forget that stuff as well. I will definitely remember the warnings, which PPs have said, are good to keep in mind no matter where you live.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

I'm glad your son is ok!

I'm always surprised by the people shocked to find a snake or a gator in or around disney. FL is full of bugs, snakes and gators!

 

[Praying Colonel]

I'd be interested in hearing from FL attorneys on whether FL law places a legal duty on property owners to keep their property reptile-free. My guess is that it does not, because it would be an impossible standard to meet. The state is crawling with them (pun intended).

I could see why Disney may want to help this family from a PR perspective, but from a legal perspective I'd be surprised if they had any liability.

ETA: OP, very glad to hear your child is recovering nicely. What a horrible ordeal it must have been.

 

[Disneefun]

Staying at CSR last spring, I spent the week enthralled with a family of ducklings. One evening I was watching them from the sidewalk that borders the lake when I saw the water off in the lake start to ripple and move, the waves coming toward the duck family. I thought, "Oh, no," but there wasn't anything I could do. Out of the water comes a gator mouth and chomp, one less duckling. It wasn't a very Disney moment, but I wasn't surprised, either. I'm from the south and I know that any body of water has the potential to harbor critters. It's like your own personal episode of wild kingdom.

 

[SNylund]

WOW!! OMG!!!

All I can say is thank you so much for sharing that information, I would have never even thought about something like this. So glad your child recovered and is OK. Now we will take the appropriate precautions.

 

[dis75ney]

OMG! I'm so sorry this happened to you, OP! Hope your little guy is feeling better...

We stayed at SSR this past June and on our first full day there, we were walking towards Artists Palette for breakfast before heading to the parks. As we turned the corner of our building, I saw what I thought was a huge black tree branch in the middle of the sidewalk. I must have jumped about five feet in the air when the branch started moving into the bush! DS laughed at me while DH ran to try and get a picture of the snake. I walked through the parking lots after that and will now be requesting rooms on the 2nd floor and upwards...last thing I need is to be out on a patio and see another one of those guys... *shudder*

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

This is even more scarey than the snakes at FOTLK thread!!

I would not even have thought about them being in shrubs, I could easily see any of my kids reaching into, or running in the shrubs. Definitly will be thinking of this! YIKES!!

Thank you for the post and I am very happy that your son is okay!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Thank you for sharing. That was a scary ordeal. Glad your son is better.

 

[Beauty & the Best]

Since so many people posted about seeing long black snakes at the resorts...I'd just like to say that most of those black snakes are black racers and while they can bite you, they are non-venomous and they are more likely to flee than stick around and bite you.

still they will scare the bejezus out of you if your'e not expecting them

 

[D. Crockett]

I want to share what happened to my son on our recent trip to make everyone aware and to be very careful.

At the end of May we were staying at the Caribbean Resort. We had only been there for 2 hours when we headed toward the bus stop to go to dinner. We were walking on the sidewalk when my 7 year old son dropped a toy into the landscaping. The toy landed less than a foot from the sidewalk edge into some very manicured landscaping. He bent down to pick it up, his feet never leaving the sidewalk, when he suddenly said, "Daddy, Daddy, something just bit me!" At first we thought it was just a prickly bush or a lizard until my husband saw the snake. We immediately called for an ambulance and I scooped him up, praying all the while, and headed for the bus stop to wait for the ambulance. The pain was excruciating and his hand began to swell. He kept asking me if he was going to die. Imagine hearing a question like that from your child and not knowing the answer. He was bitten three times on the finger by a water moccasin. We were first taken to Celebration Hospital and then transferred to Florida Children's Hospital. He spent three days in the pediatric intensive care unit and received 12 vials of anitivenin. The swelling reached all the way to his shoulder, but antivenin was administered before it invaded the shoulder joint, or he might have lost his entire arm. Thankfully the antivenin worked, he survivied, and was able to keep his arm and finger. For several weeks he was sleeping over 14 hours a day, one of the side effects of the antivenin, and he still has some stiffness in his finger.

I know the chances of getting bitten by a venomous snake at Disney are very rare, but it can and did happen. I just want to make everyone aware. It is a natural wildlife area. Watch your children around the landscaping, keep them from making shortcuts through it. Would our experience keep us from Disney in the future? No, but I would definately be more cautious. Just be aware of your surroundings.

Sorry to hear your family had such a frightening experience. Glad your son is okay and was able to recover quickly.

This is actually something easily overlooked when you're someplace like Disney. I'm guilty of this...as deadly wildlife would be the last thing on my mind when walking around a theme park or resort. It's easy to get wrapped up in the atmosphere and forget we're in Central Fla where snakes are abundant.

The tourist town where I live & work (Gatlinburg, TN) has the same issue. It's pretty and well-kept, but makes it easy to forget that the creek and wooded areas are popular breeding grounds for water moccasin's and copperheads during the Spring months. Luckily, most snakes prefer the creek and are afraid of the sidewalk (for the most part).

 

[MoonFaerie]

Sorry to hear your family had such a frightening experience. Glad your son is okay and was able to recover quickly.

This is actually something easily overlooked when you're someplace like Disney. I'm guilty of this...as deadly wildlife would be the last thing on my mind when walking around a theme park or resort. It's easy to get wrapped up in the atmosphere and forget we're in Central Fla where snakes and gators are abundant.

The tourist town where I live & work (Gatlinburg, TN) has the same issue. It's pretty and well-kept, but makes it easy to forget that the creek and wooded areas are popular breeding grounds for water moccasin's and copperheads during the Spring months. Luckily, most snakes prefer the creek and are afraid of the sidewalk (for the most part).

Don't forget the bears. The last time we went to Cades Cove, I just stuck in traffic in the mountains. There was a mama bear and her cubs maybe 20 feet off of the road. People were stopping in the middle of the road to get out and get closer to get pictures. I was like, DUDE! Mama bear! Do you really want to get attacked? Idiots! When dh worked at one of the hotels in Gatlinburg, they used to have bears out behind it all the time.

 

[DutchsMommy]

Glad to hear he is OK! I am guilty of forgetting about wildlife, now that I think about it. DH and DS were all over the 'forest/shrubs' surrounding the bus stop at WL on our first trip, and often much around off the paths. I think I will just mention it to DH before our next trip...better safe than sorry!

 

[29apr00]

OMG how scary for your son and your family! i'm so glad he's ok!

Thank you so much for posting....i never in a million years would have worried about snakes! We are heading out to Ft Wilderness in December...and were very excited about the trails and woods and all the grassy places to play! Not anymore! they'll be lucky to get me out of the cabin now!

 

[WGJackie]

I'm very sorry to hear about your son. Unfortunately snakes are a part of florida's atmosphere. There's simply no way to keep all the snakes out of WDW. It isn't covered by a bio dome of sorts like most people say. Glad your son is okay!

 

[TitanBrett]

We are heading out to Ft Wilderness in December...and were very excited about the trails and woods and all the grassy places to play! Not anymore! they'll be lucky to get me out of the cabin now!

Do not be scared, be cautious. Florida has literally thousands of miles of trails, there is even a "greenway" that you can walk, run or bike that crosses the whole state, 110 miles from Gulf to Ocean. These trails are used all the time and people that are cautious and stay alert rarely if ever have problems. Realistically, people who are not cautious and who do not stay alert rarely have problems either.

 

[preciousmama45]

I want to share what happened to my son on our recent trip to make everyone aware and to be very careful.

At the end of May we were staying at the Caribbean Resort. We had only been there for 2 hours when we headed toward the bus stop to go to dinner. We were walking on the sidewalk when my 7 year old son dropped a toy into the landscaping. The toy landed less than a foot from the sidewalk edge into some very manicured landscaping. He bent down to pick it up, his feet never leaving the sidewalk, when he suddenly said, "Daddy, Daddy, something just bit me!" At first we thought it was just a prickly bush or a lizard until my husband saw the snake. We immediately called for an ambulance and I scooped him up, praying all the while, and headed for the bus stop to wait for the ambulance. The pain was excruciating and his hand began to swell. He kept asking me if he was going to die. Imagine hearing a question like that from your child and not knowing the answer. He was bitten three times on the finger by a water moccasin. We were first taken to Celebration Hospital and then transferred to Florida Children's Hospital. He spent three days in the pediatric intensive care unit and received 12 vials of anitivenin. The swelling reached all the way to his shoulder, but antivenin was administered before it invaded the shoulder joint, or he might have lost his entire arm. Thankfully the antivenin worked, he survivied, and was able to keep his arm and finger. For several weeks he was sleeping over 14 hours a day, one of the side effects of the antivenin, and he still has some stiffness in his finger.

I know the chances of getting bitten by a venomous snake at Disney are very rare, but it can and did happen. I just want to make everyone aware. It is a natural wildlife area. Watch your children around the landscaping, keep them from making shortcuts through it. Would our experience keep us from Disney in the future? No, but I would definately be more cautious. Just be aware of your surroundings.

My family is so relieved to know that your son will be okay!!!!!